Quick acting connector



Jan. l2,` 1954 c. R. VEGREN 29665931 l QUICK CTING CONNECTOR Filed Jan. 25, 1952 INVENT OR Patented Jan. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES FTENT @FFME Claims.

(Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952),

sec. 266) The present invention relates to a connector and more particularly to a high strength quick acting means for connecting mating parts which are to be joined concentrically with one another.

When mating parts of the above type are to be connected, it is frequently necessary that the parts be quickly attachable and that the connection be positive and safe to the extent that the mating members will not easily part during normal use. Means which have heretofore been used to connect such members have involved, among other things, the use of matching internal and external threads, detents, keys, and pins. Where large numbers of parts must be quickly assembled, as when rocket heads are to be attached to rocket motors just prior to launching, threaded connections are often unsuitable because of the time and labor required to secure the members together. The other methods of attachment enumerated above involve either a considerable waste of time to assemble or do not provide a sufficiently positive connection between members. Y

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages associated with prior art connecting means by providing a tensioned coil spring which prior to joining of the parts lies radially depressed in a spiral groove on a male member, the depth oi the groove being substantially equal to or greater than the cross sectional diameter of the spring wire. A female member is provided with a complementary internal spiral groove of less depth than the cross sectional diameter of the spring wire and the arrangement may be such that when the members are joined and the spiral grooves brought into registry with each other the coil spring expands into the internal grooves of the female member and the members are tightened together by rotating either one or the other in a manner common to any screw coupled joint.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide an interlocking connector for male and female members.

Another object of the invention is to provide a connection of the above type which is automatically self-locking.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock connection for male and female members which is both positive in operation and rapid in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a high strength quick acting connector which is easily actuated.

Still another object is the provision of a permanent lock between members being joined,

These and other objects and their attendant advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal View partly in section of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a change position view similar to Fig. 1 showing the male and female members assembled and locked in position; v Fig. 3 is a reduced transverse elevation View of a form of coil spring that may be employed in the present invention; l

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section View taken along a line substantially corresponding to line 4--4 of Fig. l and showing a portion of the coil spring connector locked in position on the male member as it appears before connection with a mating member;

Fig. 5 is a change position View similar to Fig. `4 taken along a line substantially corresponding to line 5 5 of Fig. 2 and showing a portion of the coil spring connector as it appears after the connection of the mating members;

Fig 6 is a longitudinal View partly in sectionv of a second embodiment of the present invention in which the grooves on the male member have been extended to the end thereof; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view-of one of i the coiled connector spring tangs which may be used in conjunction with the embodiment shown in Fig. 6 and which has been notched to facilitate its removal.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views and more particularly to Fig. 1 wherein there is disclosed a coupling assembly which includes an externally grooved male connecting member IG which is to be made contiguous with and connected to an internally grooved female connecting member H. The male mem-` ber I0 has an external helical or spiral groove I2 machined therein which extends less than the.

length of the member for accommodating acoiled connector spring I3 having a form illustrated in Fig. 3. The material of spring I3, although disclosed as circular in cross section, may be con-v structed of a material having a square cross section. The groove I2 is of a predetermined depth which is equal to or greater than the diameter of the material of which the spring i3 is constructed and having a sectional configuration complementary to that of the spring material, the spring is member te the upper surface thereof lies iiush with or below the outer surface of the member l0, thus presenting an eectively smooth surface so that when mounted in the groove I2 about the relatively free from any obstruction that might impede the joining of the connecting members IIJ and II. The spring I3, which in a normal expanded condition (Fig. 3) is of a larger external diameter than the major diameters of the male member IB and the female member II, has ends I4 and I5 which are of a smaller arc radius than the intermediate convolutions of the spring and smaller than the arc radius of the male member. These ends Iii and l5 terminate in inwardly projecting spring retaining tangs It and Il', respectively, which serve as locking means to maintain the loops of spring I3 within the confines of groove I2 by engaging suitable vrecesses I@ and I9v located at opposite ends of the groove. The tangs I6 and Il are maintained within their respective recesses I8 and I9 by an inwardly. directed radial force exerted by the end convolutions` Ili and" I5 which are in a distorted condition with an increased arc radius equal to that of the groove I2 inorder that they might lie flush with or below the-surface of the male connecting member It. The distance between the recesses I8 and I9 along the longitudinal axes of the male connecting member Il! is greater than the distance between the tangs l5 and II along the longitudinal axes of' the'c'oiled connector spring I3, therefore, in order to position the tangs It and Il in their respective recesses I8 and i9, it is necessary to expand the spring I3`l along its longitudinal axes which places the spring under longitudinal tension and` radial compression.

The femaleV member II has an internal spiral grooveZl'Iv therein which has the same pitch as. that of the groove i2 on the male member Ill and' is'ofa depth that is less than the diameter of the spring wire so that upon the joining of the mem*- bers I and II and the radial expansion of coiled connector spring i3', the members are locked togetlier by the spring which is in contact with the'grooves I2 and 2B (Fig. 2).

The-loaded spring i3 is released to expand' radially by the withdrawal of tang I1 from its'v recess I9'. The tang Vi is withdrawn by pressure being exertedupon a deformed portion 25 of the last convolution l which protrudes above the.

outer surface of male member I0 when the spring' lisloaded on the member (Fig. 4). In the embodiment shown, pressure is applied to the deformed portion 25 by a beveled leading edge 26 ofthe female member i I when these members IU and II are joined. The leading edge 2E contactsV the deformed portion 25 and forces it into the groove I2 of the male member IG, whereupon thev tang I'I is raised from the recess I9 thus conditioning the spring to expand radially. ri'he mem.- bers Ill'l and I I are then urged closer together until the leading edge 26 of the female member contacts a shoulder 2? on the male member and the members twisted until the grooves I2 and 2li register, the spring it then expands into the groove to lockV the members together (Figs. 2 and 5) Because of the unique construction of the elements it is impossible to separate the membersv ID' andA Il once they have been assembled. Any attempt to separate the members Iii and II must necessarily be by turning the member iii counterclo'ckwise with relation to the female member I l This rotating motion causes tang il of the spring I3' to abut an end 25; of the groove 2t, and since tang IB remains within the recess I5, any further movement of the members will result in the lineal compression and further radial expansion of the spring which increases the friction between the groove 20 and the spring to prevent further relative movement between the members I0 and II, and hence prevent separation of the members.

In view of the above disclosure, a second embodiment becomes readily apparent to those skilled in the art. In this variation, the grooves in the rnale` and female members may be shallow and deep "respectively instead of deep and shallow as shown. The spring is then reversed so that tlie tangs are directed outwardly and the deformed portion extends inwardly. This inversion is readily visualized without illustration, for th'ef elements; except for the basic male and female membersv are reversed. The spring is held in" radial' tension within the female member to bez-radially compressed, upon contact of the members and thereby engage the grooves of the male member' to lock" the'members together.

In some instances thelprovision of a permanent lock between members may be undesirable; therefore-inlig. 'fthere-isf disclosed another embodimentof theinvention wherein a male connecting member Eil is providedlhaving features which permit'its ready disconnection from a mating member. The'male member 50 has a spiral groove 5I formed therein which extends the entire length of the member. In thisembodiment the groove 5I is of suiiicient depth to accommodate a helical or spiral coiled'oonnector spring 52, similar in configuration to thatv disclosed in Fig. 3 andy in a manner described in conjunction with the previous embodiment of this invention. Thespring 52 has a first convolution which terminates in a tang 53' which is weakened by notches 54 or 55, or both at the point where it joins the spring (Fig. 7), so that when the member 5i)Y is-assem-4 bled with its mating member (not shown) as def scribed above, a twist of predetermined force will snap the tang 53 and permit the member to be disassembled in a manner similar toV the unscrewing of conventional threads. The spring 52 which remains within the femalemember may be' removed by the use of a compression tool or any other suitable means.

A further embodiment may be provided in order just prior to use, as is the case with rocket heads and motors, the members are provided, at'the time of `manufacture, with the hereinbefore described grooves and the spring I3 is assembled within the male groove' I2 by expanding the end' convolutions I4 and I5 sulnciently to permit the spring to slide over the exterior surface ofv the male member II! until the tang I6 registers with its recess I8. Releasing the convolution I4 permits the tang I6 to engage the recess I8 by the convolutions natural resiliency. The spring I3 may then be worked into and along the grooveV i2 until the tang I'! registers with its recess I9; said tang naturally seating therein because of the reduced diameter of the last convolution I5. Thus, the spring I3 will be retained locked in a tensioned condition inthe groove I2 andthe male and female members may be quickly assembled at some future time by the. simple process of` sliding them together until' the deformed portion 25 of the spring I3 is depressed by the beveled leading edge 25 of the female member to disengage the tang il and permit the spring I3 to expand radially into the groove 20 of the female member when the groove l2 has been properly registered therewith.

While the devices disclosed herein are preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

The invention described herein may be mann.- factured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes Without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is:

l. In a connector assembly, a male member having an external groove, a female member having an internal groove, a resilient spring mounted in the groove of one of the members, the groove receiving the spring being of a depth substantially equal to the thickness of spring material and the groove in the opposite member being of a depth materially less than the thickness of the spring material, interengaging means on the spring and said one member for retaining the spring in a tensioned condition in the groove of said one member, and means to release said interengaging means upon assembly of the members whereby to permit the spring to expand into the grooove in the opposite member to lock said members together.

2. In a connection of male and female meml.

bers, a male member having an external groove, a female member having an internal groove, a resilient spring mounted in the groove of one of the members, tangs on the opposite ends of the spring, the groove which receives the spring being of a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the spring material and having tang receiving recesses therein to retain the spring mounted in said groove and the groove in the opposite member being of a depth materially less than the thickness of the spring material, and a deformed portion in said spring adjacent one end thereof for contact with the opposite member to disengage a tang from its recess whereby the spring may be released to expand into the shallow groove upon assembly of the members.

3. In a connection of male and female members, a male member having an external groove, a female member having an internal groove, a resilient spring mounted in the groove of one of the members and having tangs at opposite ends thereof, the groove which receives the spring being of a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the spring material and having tang receiving recesses therein to retain the spring within the groove and the groove in the opposite member being of a depth materially less than the thickness of the spring material, and means to release the spring to expand into the shallow groove upon assembly of the members to lock said members together.

4. In a connector assembly, a male member having an external spiral groove, a female member having an internal spiral groove, a resilient spring in the groove of the male member, the diameter of said spring in a normal unstressed condition being greater than the diameter of the spiral groove in the female member, interengaging means on the spring and male member to maintain the spring in a tensioned condition in the groove, the groove in the male member being of a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the spring material and the groove in the female member being of a depth materially less than the depth of the groove containing the spring, and means to release the interengaging means upon assembly of the members whereby to permit said spring to expand into the shalloW groove 0f the female member to lock said members together.

5. In a connecetor assembly, a male connecting member having a groove therein, a female connecting member having a groove which terminates short of the leading edge thereof, a resilient tension spring mounted in the groove of the male member and terminated at each end in a tang, said male groove being of a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the spring material and having tang receiving recesses therein to retain the spring therein and the female groove being of a depth materially less than the thickness of the spring material, means for disengaging one of the tangs from its recess to release the resilient means to expand into the shallow groove upon assembly of the members, the engaged tang being notched so as to cause it to break off upon twisting of the members to permit the members to be disassembled.

CONRAD R. VEGREN.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date '738,503 Waters Sept. 8, 1903 1,464,386 Ingram Aug. 7, 1923 1,820,644 Bach Aug. 25, 1931 1,891,460 Vlahek Dec. 20, 1932 2,346,051 Seamark Apr. 4, 1944 2,418,418 Martin Apr. l, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 19,932 Great Britain of 1897 

